Personally I love to listen to music when I am running unless I need to work out some problems in my head. The music helps me keep my pace steady as well. However, for safety sake, if I am in an area that isn't well populated, I tend to turn it off

This thread is a pointless exercise as there are too many issues that cause disagreement

1. Music for entertainment - matter of opinion so no consensus will be reached

2. Music being dangerous -

a) assumes that all runners/cyclists/pedestrians have the same awareness around them to start with. Clearly some people are not capable of running safely without music (by being careless) and other people are perfectly capable of running safely with music on.

b) it clearly depends on the location - running on a path where you'll be the only person for miles you're unlikely to cause an accident and muggers etc. tend to focus on areas where they'll find people. If you're running in a built up area, busy cycle path or a road with no pavement then clearly it's more important to have full awareness

3. Music being rude at races - if someone is able to maximise their performance using music then surely it would be unfair to prevent them from using it - how about banning pace measurement devices, only allowing one type of shoes etc?!

Just my opinions: Personally I've just started using music as an aid for marathon training after a 15 mile run without left me focussing on how tired I was and how close I was to the end for the last 5 miles or so... First impressions are that it seems to help even on shorter runs!

Just because some one is wearing an earpeice it doesn't mean that they are listening to anything. I find it hard to see my watch when running which is why I tend to rely on pressing a button that speaks to me giving my mileage, pace and time the musiv is a bonus and I don't always use it as I have said before. If ipods are banned at a race this would put me at a disadvantage as I would find it harder to pace myself. I am not compelling others to listen to music so why should I have my freedom of choice restricted because others wish to impose their preference?

on the point of hearing marshalls, 80% off communication is body lanuage and are hard of hearing people allowed run? non english speakers? dyslexics (like myself, i struggle with left and right) or even people running very fast.

i have been in and marshalled races that have needed verbal instructions i.e first left, second right ect. This is not satictifactory and is a sign of a poorly oganised and a potentially very dangerous race.

what implications for the future. Currently we are listening to music whilst we are running, in the future we could be in debating running whilst people are watching tiny TVs.....more in the future we could be in a virutal world not just listening to music but watching it live all whilst running our local 10K.....the mind boggles .

Surely the marshalls stand there and point and gesture too? They're not statues!

Having said that, to play devil's advocate, I sometimes find the gestures too vague (normally when my brain's shut down in the last few miles) and rely on their spoken communication...So it's obviously a good job I don't race with an ipod

I agree with Lil Miss Squirrel - We should bring back ghetto blasters and combine running and weights!

This argument is silly because it has too many variables and I'm highly sceptical about how Nike and RW can glean any 'facts' from this discussion....But it passes the time when I should be working

I made the point earlier that I thought music should be banned at races because I'd travelled all the way to stand in the rain to support my friend and she didn't hear me because of her iPod . But that was a 10K race. I take John's point above that it's a whole other story when running long distances in preparation for a marathon or during the marathon itself. Respect to those runners who run that distance without the distraction of music, but a mile is a mile is a mile - I admire everyone who runs 26 miles, with or without music.

Can't do it. I have tried but I like to hear what's around me and earphones just really irritate me when I'm running. Anyway I could never hear the gasps of admiration as I speed past people at my breathtakingly sedate plod.!!

I'm a relatively newby runner and I started out with an ipod shuffle, I thought I'd need the music to stop me getting bored but having ran yesterday without it I actually ran much better and felt in control. When I have my ipod on I can't hear my breathing (Which was the main reason I wore one initially because listening to me panting put me off) and the speed of the song made me run faster or slower. As an inexperienced runner I fthink this made me go too fast too soon and hence I was getting really tired too quick and feeling despondant because I felt so out of breath all the time.

My run yesterday without the music was more controlled and to my own rhythm which resulted in me running non-stop for 45 minutes over 5½ miles.

I think I'll use the ipod for shorter faster training sessions and go au naturel for the distances from now on........also you can't hear the birds with Madonna in your ears!!!

Previously bookmarked threads are now visible in "Followed Threads". You can also manage notifications on these threads from the "Forum Settings" section of your profile settings page to prevent being sent an email when a reply is made.

Runner's World is a publication of Hearst Magazines UK which is the trading name of The National Magazine Company Ltd, 72 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 9EP. Registered in England 112955. All rights reserved. Runner's World, Part of the Hearst UK wellbeing network